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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
World
Dan Bloom & Zoe Peck

Party leaders' tribute to Sir David Amess as MP's death declared a terror incident

Flowers have been laid for tragic Tory MP Sir David Amess by Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer.

Standing side-by-side, the Prime Minister and Labour leader united in grief after the second fatal attack on an MP in six years.

The party leaders visited the church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, where the 69-year-old Tory MP was stabbed to death yesterday.

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It's expected that MPs will be contacted by the end of the day with fresh security advice from their local police forces after Home Secretary Priti Patel ordered a rapid review, writes the Mirror.

The move comes after Sir David's death was declared a terrorist incident by police.

In a statement, the Met said Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, had formally declared the incident as terrorism.

MP Sir David Amess' death has been declared a 'terror incident' (Chris McAndrew/PA Wire)

The investigation, which sees two addresses being searched, is being led by counter-terrorism officers.

The early investigation has revealed “a potential motivation linked to Islamist extremism”, the force said.

The Mirror understands some MPs have been advised to tell police about any constituency surgery events - while others have been asked to cancel them altogether.

Longer-term, the Home Secretary is aiming to make security advice more uniform across the country. MPs already had to install new panic buttons and CCTV after the 2016 murder of Jo Cox.

The PM and Mr Starmer were joined by Commons Speaker Sir Linsday Hoyle and Ms Patel, as they laid floral wreaths and stood briefly in silence outside Belfairs Methodist Church, where Sir David died yesterday.

A 25-year-old man arrested at the scene on suspicion of murder is in custody at an Essex police station.

Official sources told the PA news agency the man is believed to be a British national with Somali heritage.

The force believe the man acted alone and are not seeking anyone else in connection with the matter at this time, but inquiries into the circumstances of the incident are continuing.

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